Uncover Your Roots: Exploring Ancestry & Family History
One thing I have learned on this genealogy journey is that you never really know who is paying attention, who is quietly reading my blog posts, scrolling through my Facebook posts, or listening when I talk about my research and my findings. I must admit that I give my family a very hard time because... Continue Reading →
My grandmother, Gladys Denson Mays, Class of 1931 Valedictorian (standing back row center), Newport Colored Schools
One of the things I always do before a research trip is go through old research notes to see what loose ends, I have. While preparing for my trip to RootsTech and the Family Search Library, I was going through some of my research notes from the last six months. One of the things that... Continue Reading →
February has always been my favorite month of the year because it's Black History Month. I know in February I will be able to find all kinds of Black books, apparel, and information that isn't readily available in stores throughout the rest of the year. During February I know I will be able to watch... Continue Reading →
Many of you know me as the family historian behind this blog and podcast, Journey Through the Generations. You have followed me as I have researched my ancestors, uncovered family stories, shared discoveries, and written about all things genealogy. But there is one part of my own family history that I have never shared here... Continue Reading →
My Ancestral Home
For more than 15 years, I have been researching family history, uncovering stories, preserving memories, and sharing discoveries through Journey Through the Generations. When I started this journey, I never imagined where it would lead me. What began as a desire to learn more about my ancestors has grown into a family history blog, podcast,... Continue Reading →
For years, I thought I was simply doing family history research. I interviewed relatives. I scanned photographs. I organized documents. I collected funeral programs. I preserved school memorabilia. I wrote about my discoveries on my blog and shared them through my podcast. It wasn't until recently that I learned the word stewardship. Stewardship means caring... Continue Reading →
As my birthday approaches each year, I find myself doing what I suspect many family historians do best, looking back. Usually, I'm looking back at the lives of my ancestors, searching for another clue or preserving another story. This year, however, I found myself looking back at a different story...my own. When I started researching... Continue Reading →
If you have been following my blog or podcast for anytime at all, then you know how much I love the TV show Relative Race. Relative Race is a genetic DNA reality show. It consists of four teams that are racing across America in search for their relatives that they have never met before. They have all... Continue Reading →
Most people think of family history as a way to preserve the past. We spend years researching our ancestors, scanning old photographs, organizing documents, and recording family stories so future generations will know where they came from. But over the years, I've discovered that family history can also become an unexpected gift during one of... Continue Reading →
Mays Cummings 2026 Family Vacation
Over the past several months, much of my genealogy time has been spent writing instead of researching. Now that my writing projects are wrapping up, I'm excited to get back to what started this journey fifteen years ago - researching my family history. Earlier this year, I introduced my 2026 research challenge, "Do You Know... Continue Reading →
Mr. and Mrs. Phillip D. Cummings - Newport, AR 2000
